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AMANA, Iowa - The world's largest appliance maker on Thursday reported a lower fourth-quarter profit and sales, but still topped analysts' expectations.

Whirlpool Corp., with an appliance manufacturing plant in Amana, posted net income of $122 million, or $1.52 a share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, down from $205 million, or $2.62 a share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, Whirlpool earned $2.29 a share.

Wall Street analysts on average were looking for $2.23 per share.

Whirlpool sales fell 2.4 percent to $4.79 billion from $4.9 billion in the final quarter of 2011. Analysts had been expecting sales of $4.88 billion for the period.

For the year, Whirlpool net income rose to $401 million, or $5.06 per share, from $390 million, or $4.99 per share, in 2011. Sales slipped to $18.1 billion in 2012 from $18.7 billion in the previous year.

Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool has benefited from reducing costs and production capacity, raising prices and taking various steps to increase productivity. The company also has focused less on the lower-end appliance market in recent quarters to protect margins.